


proud

by Noa



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Drabble, Established Relationship, Gender-Neutral My Unit | Avatar, M/M, Other, Requested fic, Romance, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 12:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6657889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noa/pseuds/Noa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Corrin was like a field of flowers, a sky of stars, and freshly spun cotton candy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	proud

There’s nothing beautiful to find in war.

There was no art in that kind of hunt, no satisfaction in its victories. There was no sense, no shine, no end.

Maybe Kaden was in denial, pretending to be unsoiled by the grime of war while blood dripped down his claws. Keeping his fur glossier than any polished blade, he purposely looked the other way, thought of his fights as play, and smiled. He didn’t find his beauty on the battlefield. He found it in everything else, and fought to keep it alive.

He wasn’t too involved. Repaying a debt was one thing, fighting with your heart was another.

That changed quickly. While his cheerful demeanor was believed to be insincere at first, Kaden had a glow about him, a refreshing brand of affection for things that seemed so distant during war. Kindness, promises, beauty. He saw things others didn’t, and the things they did see, he looked at through different eyes.

Like Corrin.

So many different faces, yet the same, solid heart. A pure, almost naive kindness that even Kaden thought to be out of place on a battlefield. It suited them, though. That silver gleam of strength, that warm touch of caring hands, and a humility unbefitting of a dragon, to say the least. It matched Kaden’s aesthetic so much that simply looking at Corrin made him smile.

They were more than a kaleidoscope. They were the faces of a polished gem, the phases of the moon, as beautiful as they were constant, as mysterious as they were dependable. The most unpredictable, yet the only security this war had to offer. It was strange, in a way. Corrin’s decisions were some of the heaviest, fate-changing choices. The world around them wove itself in their hands, history was born from their blade- and yet anyone, everyone who knew them followed them into the darkest abyss without a shred of hesitation. Somehow, they were convinced Corrin would do the right thing, even if Corrin wasn’t.

Even when nothing seemed right at all.

Sometimes, Kaden wished he could just scoop Corrin up, and keep them in a den somewhere. Safe from everything but his adoration, day after day after day..

But that’d do them all a disfavor. And it was probably the most dangerous thing to do, safe as it sounded in Kaden’s head. Everyone needed Corrin, depended on them, in more ways than Kaden could possibly understand. What he did understand, was that he couldn’t take Corrin away from this world to live in his own. Some kinds of beauty you just can’t capture. You have to leave them where you found them, and allow them to share their beauty with everyone.

Corrin was like a field of flowers, a sky of stars, and freshly spun cotton candy. Beautiful, endless and sweet, but not something, not someone Kaden could keep to himself.

The best thing about Corrin was that they didn’t just radiate beauty- they made everything around them beautiful, too. They brought smiles to scowling faces, steadiness to trembling hands, and warmth to frozen hearts. It’s not that Kaden didn’t _feel_ any jealousy- it was just impossible to nurture that feeling when there were so many people who shared his love. So many people who Corrin had touched, inspired, and led to change.

With all those people to be jealous of, Kaden's jealousy diluted, watered down until it turned into a quiet sense of pride. Pride that he was one of the people Corrin called a friend. Family. Proud that he got to have a place in that beautiful, boundless heart. Proud that Corrin shared a piece of their heart with him, too. Proud he got to hold their hand.

And how proudly that hand wore his ring.

_-fin_

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, this really didn't come out the way I wanted to. I struggled _hard_ writing this, but I can't wring out any more words, so I'm just gonna let it go. Be free, my shitty drabble. Be free.
> 
> I hope you'll like it, regardless.


End file.
